Chef Chat

Advice for iPod generation

Lizzie (left) and Anna Post

Lizzie (left) and Anna Post

As great-great granddaughters of etiquette maven Emily Post, Anna and Lizzie Post are authors and spokeswomen at the Vermont-based Emily Post Institute.

The sisters' new book, "Emily Post's Great Get-Togethers: Casual Gatherings & Elegant Parties at Home" (William Morrow, $24.99), arrives in bookstores in May. It includes recipes from Jimtown Store, a famous deli in Sonoma County, that range from buttermilk feather cake with nutmeg to "the top five cocktails everyone should know how to make" (including mimosa and Uncle Mac's Cosmo).

Anna, 30, and Lizzie, 27, recently answered a few questions.

Q. How have you adapted "Emily Post's Entertaining" to fit into today's world?

Anna: It's less about technicalities and precise manners and more about entertaining, and thinking about the whole guest experience. Because we all know you can set a beautiful table and have a lousy party.

We're on budgets, and it needs to be creative. People entertain so much on the fly these days. There needs to be some easy assembly and ready-to-go.

Q. What has been one of the best get-togethers you've hosted?

Lizzie: I did my own birthday party the other year. My boyfriend and I cooked one of our favorite meals.

When you love the food you're serving, that transfers to the guests who are eating it. I still have people two years later telling me about that pulled pork they ate.

Q. How can you quickly transform a back yard into a dining spot?

Lizzie: Twinkly lights. Any kind of lighting that you can mix in among the different plants and vegetation really works to enhance the space.

Anna: The two absolute quickest ways - bare minimum - are music and drinks. And having supplies ready to go, whether it's a colorful tablecloth or a pitcher of lemonade. I keep a couple different playlists on my iPod.

Q. Do you cook with any family recipes?

Lizzie: I have a mother who is a wonderful cook. When I don't know what to cook, I go to our chicken tarragon. It works summer and winter, and you can do a lot of things to change it up.

My father makes the most amazing steak. It's salt and black pepper and olive oil and lemon. That's it. I'm drooling talking about it right now.

Anna: I cook with a lot of family recipes, some of which are in the book. One is a favorite that's not in the book, a tortellini soup with spinach that's my favorite comfort food from Mom.

Q. For party hosts on a budget, what are some recipes you can recommend that will still wow the guests?

Lizzie: That pulled pork that we made, you can get a pork shoulder or a pork butt for anywhere from $6 to $14. Once you get into the $10-plus range, you're looking at serving a lot of people.

I also look for recipes that use really basic vegetables like onions, celery and carrots that you can find all year long and don't tend to be very expensive.

You don't always have to go with the really chic dishes. Good, classic home-cooked food can be very simple. It really is all about the seasonings. We make a shepherd's pie that's right out of "The Joy of Cooking" with one or two twists.

Anna: Louise's Spring Pea Soup, which is in the book, is from my mother's friend, Louise. You just garnish with black sesame seeds and mint. Serve it chilled, and it's perfect for spring.

Q. When is an e-mail invite OK?

Lizzie: E-mail is great when it's a group of friends you know answers their e-mail daily.

What you don't want to do is send out an e-mail invite to people you don't e-mail with, or don't use e-mail often.

Q. How do you suggest handling a rude guest at a dinner party?

Lizzie: The best thing you can do for all of your guests, including the one being rude, is to redirect the conversation to a positive topic.

It's not OK to reprimand the person. Correcting someone else's behavior, even doing it afterward, is getting into very sticky situations.